


And To Traditions, Old And New

by SpicyTomatoSauce



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, M/M, Spanish!Specs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27518350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyTomatoSauce/pseuds/SpicyTomatoSauce
Summary: It wasn't that Specs hated America.But he had only lived here for a few months and so far, not much was different from Costa Rica except for the fact that there were a lot more white people and he had more friends than he used to.-Specs has moved to America and his friends have to teach him about their traditions and maybe he teaches them a few too.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Romeo/Specs (Newsies), Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer
Comments: 21
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So! Spanish (or Spanish-speaking, technically) Specs. This is an idea that I've played around with in rps before so I wrote a fic about it because I can really only write for one character.
> 
> So enjoy!

It wasn’t that Specs hated America.

But he had only lived here for a few months and so far, not much was different from Costa Rica except for the fact that there were a lot more white people and he had more friends here than he used to.

See, he and his Mama had moved from their small home in Alajuela, Costa Rica to an arguably smaller house half an hour away from Manhattan. But they had moved in May, meaning he didn’t get to finish sophomore year and had to deal with the same sweltering heat he would have dealt with back home.

He had met some kids when his junior year started. They were nice enough and welcomed him warmly and most of them knew at least a little Spanish, but they were also a large group.

Said group consisted of Jack Kelly and his boyfriend, Davey. Davey’s sister, Sarah, and her girlfriend, Katherine. Albert, who was both ginger and hard of hearing (talk about a rough break), and then Jojo and Race. Crutchie, who’s real name was Charlie and whose smile was like a sunflower. Buttons, Elmer, and Spot.

And then there was Romeo.

Goddamned Romeo.

He knew absolutely no Spanish, but he was cute and nice and Specs liked him.

Like, a lot.

Like, a lot, a lot.

It was what his Mama would call a “poco amor” or little love. He would let his Mama call it whatever she wanted, but he felt it wasn’t just a crush. At least, not for him. He felt it was more than a little love.

Mas que un poco de amor.

So, no. Specs didn’t hate America, despite only being here for six months. He certainly did miss his old house in Alajuela and his friends from his school, but it was pretty nice here.  
Of course, it was only October.

And it turns out, the holidays in America were really weird.

“So, wait, what is it?” Specs asked again as he sat at their lunch table.

“Halloween,” Romeo answered with a laugh. “Everyone dresses up and goes to parties or goes trick-or-treating.”

“What. The hell. Is trick-or-treating?”

This was one of many cultural transitions. Specs hadn’t ever really heard of Halloween before. He and his Mama had celebrated Dia de Muertos, or All Soul’s Day, on November 1st, but not Halloween. It wasn’t really a thing, at least in the neighborhood he had grown up in.

“Well, what did you do in October? What did you have to look forward to?” Albert asked.

“Dia de Muertos? All Soul’s Day? It’s not really Halloween, but similar, I suppose.” Specs shrugged. Romeo broke into a grin.

“We have got to teach you about Halloween,” he said excitedly.  
Specs sighed.

“Do you really?”

“Yes! We do!”

Specs huffed and rolled his eyes. “Americanos…” he muttered. 

But they managed. All his friends taught him about Halloween, dressing up, and forced him to watch a couple horror movies, which Specs found a little boring. 

Also, Twinkies. They were the weirdest thing Specs had ever eaten and he probably would never want to try one again. 

Halloween itself included a large party at Katherine’s house and Specs staying away from the larger crowds and watching quietly on his own. Which he didn’t mind.

Although a few times, he caught himself staring at Romeo and Romeo staring right back.

It was probably nothing.


	2. Thanksgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo I'm back. This is like...the one fic that I'm actually updating frequently. I have all the chapters written so...anyways, enjoy!

With November came Thanksgiving.

“So let me get this straight,” Specs said after his friends had explained it to him. “You all sit around all day making a lot of food and then eat that lot of food while grossly twisting around the story of the Pilgrims and American natives to make it sound like they were friends and therefore erasing the terrible genocide done to the natives and then you call it a /holiday/?”

The group went silent.

“…maybe Thanksgiving isn’t the best holiday,” Katherine agreed quietly. Specs shook his head and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

What a strange country.

The week of Thanksgiving break, it was supposed to snow, meaning it would be Specs’ first time seeing snow ever.

He and Romeo were out that Tuesday night, after seeing a movie with the others. Romeo insisted that he could walk home and Specs, still a little wary of America (maybe those horror movies did affect him a little), insisted on walking with him.

The two were laughing at a stupid joke Romeo had made when a cold, wet something landed on Specs’ arm.

“Woah, what?” he asked, jumping back slightly. Romeo stifled his laughter as the snow began falling.

“What the hell is this?” Specs asked, backing up slightly as he stared at the dark sky. “Dios mio!” he gasped suddenly. “It’s cold!”

Romeo doubled over in laughter. “It’s snow, Specs!” he said happily. “Of course it’s cold!”

“This is snow?”

Romeo nodded with a giggle. “Come here!” He grabbed Specs’ hand and pulled him close.

“Ro! It’s cold, stop it!”

“Have you ever felt cold in your life, Specs? Just enjoy it!” Romeo laughed.

“I can’t! It’s freezing!” Specs shivered and rubbed his arms. “How do you manage to live here year round?”

Romeo shrugged. “Who knows? Guess I’m used to it.”

“Well /I’m/ not, so can we please go find someplace warm?” Specs asked. Romeo laughed again.

“Fine. C’mon.” He pulled Specs into a small cafe where they sat and watched the snow fall outside while they waited for their ride. “Hey, is it too much to ask for your real name? I mean, I’ve gone and fallen--” He seemed to catch himself. “I’m your best friend and I still don’t know it.”

Specs smiled. “Jordan,” he answered softly. Romeo smiled and turned to look out the window at the softly falling snow, the small chatter of the people in the cafe becoming background noise to him.

And if someone’s hand ended up holding someone else’s, well.

Neither of them said anything about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Comments fuel my soul and creative spark!


	3. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello it's good to see you all again! This one is about Christmas because I want it to be Christmas don't @ me.

After Thanksgiving, which Specs and his Mama did not participate in, it was suddenly Christmas time. Specs had celebrated   
Christmas, of course, so no one had to explain the concept to him.  
But it was the sheer amount of Christmas stuff that got to him.

“Why are all of your Christmas movies the exact same?” Specs asked one day when he was over at Romeo’s, helping him decorate. Romeo gave him an inquisitive look as he set a box of ornaments down.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the same plot. A woman from the big city with a big job and a good boyfriend suddenly ends up in a spot she’s not supposed to be and falls in love with the handsome lumberjack guy with a disabled daughter and two dogs.”

Romeo burst out laughing. “That was so incredibly specific!” he giggled. “And yet I swear I’ve seen that exact movie 50 times over with a different title each time. Okay, I’ll give that one to you.”

Specs grinned and started to take ornaments out of the box and put them on the tree. “Or Santo Nicolás,” he continued. “Why does he always look the same?”

“I have no idea,” Romeo answered with a shake of his head. He plucked the star from the bottom of the box and stared up at the top of the tree. “Goddammit,” he huffed. Specs laughed.

“Need some help?”

“Yes, please,” Romeo answered. Specs rolled his eyes and picked Romeo up easily. “Oh--” Romeo said in shock, feeling his face heat up. He cleared his throat and positioned the star at the very top where it belonged.

Specs set Romeo down and offered him a smile. “Good?”

Romeo wished his face would cool down. “Good,” he answered. Specs plugged the tree in and watched as the branches lit up with colors.

“Hey, look!” Specs said suddenly, nodding to the window. “More snow.”

Romeo smiled. “Have you ever had hot chocolate?” he asked. Specs rolled his eyes.

“I’m from Costa Rica, Ro, not Mars.”

Romeo blushed again. “Sorry--but c’mon, let’s go make some, and then watch one of the 50 Hallmark movies where the plot is the exact same.”

They did exactly that, with Romeo huddled close to Specs’ side as they watched whatever movie was playing right now. Specs wasn’t paying attention to it at all.

His friends also insisted he go ice skating, which…well, let him put it this way.

A boy who was born and raised in a tropical country in the middle of Central America is forced to do anything on ice.

Yeah, it didn’t go over well.

“Shit!” he hissed as he fell again. His glasses skittered a few feet away and he blinked, reaching out for them. “Uh…”

“Here.” His glasses were handed to him and as soon as Specs had fixed them back on his nose, a hand reached down toward him. “C’mon.”

Specs took Romeo’s hand--for it was Romeo’s hand, of course--and let the other boy pull him up.

“There you go!” Romeo giggled, not bothering to pull his hand away, so Specs didn’t either.

He still stumbled a lot and fell a couple of times, leading to a string of colorful words in both Spanish and English.

“Why is this fun for you guys?” Specs asked in a huff. Katherine skated past him easily, barely containing her laughter.

“Just keep holding onto Romeo, you’ll be alright,” she answered. She sent Romeo a quick wink before going off with Sarah.

And out of nowhere, it was actually Christmas. Katherine of course held another party and Specs did his best to stay towards the back corner, but Romeo found him easily.

“C’mon!” the shorter boy begged. “Just go have fun!"

Specs shrugged. “Parties aren’t really my thing,” he said with a shrug. “No big deal.”

Romeo pouted. “Please?” he begged.

“Romeo, mi amigo,” Specs sighed. “You are insufferable, you know that?”

Romeo grinned. “I know,” he answered. He grabbed Specs’ hand to drag him away from the corner when a tap on Specs’ shoulder caught his attention. He turned to find Albert looking at him with an almost smug look.

“What?” Specs asked, signing along with it. It was one of the few signs he knew. Albert pointed above them.

“Mistletoe,” he answered with a laugh. Specs followed Albert’s gaze.

“And?”

He turned to Romeo, who had gone red again. By now, most of his friends were surrounding them, cheering them on.

“Wait, what does this mean?” Specs asked curiously. Romeo sighed.

“Specs, when two people are under the mistletoe, they have to kiss. It’s another tradition here.”

“Oh.” Specs rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Uhm…okay…”

His friends laughed. “C’mon, just kiss each other already!” someone called. 

Romeo finally rolled his eyes and kissed Specs quickly on the cheek. “Happy?” he asked. The group gave him a round of groans and rolled eyes and a couple people saying “boring!” before they went back to doing whatever they were doing before.

Romeo turned to Specs with a grin, but quickly dropped it when he saw the expression on Specs’ face. “Hey…you okay?” he asked.

“Si…” Specs stammered. “Estoy bien…” But he most certainly was not fine. He didn’t know if he had wanted Romeo to kiss him fully or not kiss him at all.

He wasn’t sure which one would have hurt more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! As always, comments fuel my soul!!


	4. New Year's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! We're almost done now! This is one of my personal favorite chapters just sayin, so I hope you all like it as much as I do! (It's also a lot shorter but eh)

Then there was New Year’s. Specs had only ever seen the famous ball drop on TV, so his friends forcing him to go this year, while it was cold, wasn’t a horrible experience. It was fun and the night was filled with laughter.

“Two minutes to midnight,” Romeo said from next to him. Specs turned and grinned.

“Si. What about it?” he asked. Romeo hesitated.

“Well…I don’t know about Costa Rica, but in America…we have this tradition where--”

“Specs!” Katherine appeared at his other side, her cheeks flushed and rosy from the cold. Sarah was just behind her, holding her hand tightly. Specs smiled.

“Hello. What’s up?” he asked. Katherine shrugged and leaned over to greet Romeo.

“Does he know about the New Year’s kiss?” she asked softly. Romeo shrugged and Katherine broke into a smile. “You should do it.” She stood back up properly and faced her girlfriend, talking to her quietly.

Specs glanced back over at Romeo. “What were you saying?” he asked. “About a New Year’s tradition?”

Romeo blushed. “Oh--yeah--well, um…when it’s exactly midnight--” He was interrupted by the beginning of the countdown. He bit his lower lip and glanced up at Specs.

The other boy wasn’t particularly focused on him and Romeo was hyper-aware of their locked hands. He sighed. Now or never.

“3-2-1…Happy-!”

Romeo dragged Specs down towards him and kissed him fully on the lips, keeping his grip loose enough to let Specs pull away if he wanted to. He honestly expected him to, but…he didn’t.

Not for a while at least. And when they finally did break apart, Specs laughed. “We do have that tradition,” he confirmed. Romeo blushed furiously.

“That’s good…at least you don’t think I did that out of--”

Specs kissed him again. “Nowhere?” he finished with a quiet laugh. “Ay, mi querido…I wouldn’t have minded if it was.”

“Happy New Year,” Romeo whispered. “Here’s to a good year.”

“Y a las tradiciones, nuevas y viejas,” Specs answered, kissing Romeo once more.

And to traditions, old and new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments fuel my soul and creative spark!


	5. Dia de Muertos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter let's go!
> 
> It feels weird that this is like...the one fic I'm actually committed to.

Have any of you ever celebrated Dia de Muertos?” Specs asked. The group went silent.

“What?” Albert asked.  
“Dia de Muertos. The Day of the Dead, or All Souls Day,” Specs explained further. “I figured, y’know, cause we did Halloween last year, maybe you guys could…celebrate with me…?”

He had never seen a group of high schoolers so silent.

“Yeah, sorry. Okay, yeah. Just…forget I said anything, okay? I can celebrate Halloween again, it’s no big deal.” Specs sat down at the table and stared at his food.

“No, it’s not that,” Katherine said quickly. “But isn’t Dia de Muertos for…family?”

“Who’s to say you aren’t my family?” Specs asked. “Maybe strange, but still family.”

“You’re sure you want us to celebrate with you?” Albert asked. Specs nodded.

“I’m sure,” Specs answered, glancing at everyone around the table and his gaze finally landing on Romeo. “I’m positive.”

“Then yes. We’ll celebrate with you,” Jack answered immediately.

“What do we…do?” Elmer asked quietly.

Specs gave them a small smile. “You’ll just have to trust me.”

“Wait, what is this?” Sarah asked, pointing at a food dish. Specs laughed.

“Tamales!” he answered.

“They can’t possibly be. I’ve had tamales before and they did not look like that,” Sarah said, wrinkling her nose. Specs rolled his eyes.

“Those were either white people tamales or Mexican tamales. Ours--” He picked one up and gave it to Sarah. “--are made differently. They have garlic and these are wrapped up properly, like they’re supposed to be.”

“So how do I eat it?” Sarah asked.

“You unwrap it, And then eat it like a regular tamale. Not difficult.”

“…huh.”

“Ro! C’mere!” Specs called. It had gotten dark by now and candles lit the entirety of the backyard. Romeo joined Specs.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Specs smiled and picked up one of the many marigolds, placing it behind Romeo’s ear. “Hermoso,” he said softly. Romeo giggled softly.

“No, you are,” he returned with a light shove at Specs. In the light of the candles surrounding them, Romeo appeared to glow like a spirit himself and Specs only fell more in love with him.

“Okay, that’s enough from you.” Specs lifted Romeo easily and carried him back over to the patio, where the food had been laid out.

“So I’m assuming this is our desert?” Buttons asked, pointing at the small bowls. Specs nodded as he set Romeo down.

“Arroz con leche,” he answered.

“What’s in it?” Katherine added, joining the group.

“It’s rice and milk, but it also has sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in it. Take a bowl, please. Trust me, it’s good. You’ll like it. It’s like ice cream.”

His friends gave in and each grabbed one of the small bowls and spoons. “Okay, wow. That is…a lot like ice cream,” Davey agreed.

“But somehow…better?” Albert added. “It’s weird.”

Specs laughed as his Mama came out the door, holding a plate of Pan de Muerto, and handing it to Specs.

“Go set that out,” she ordered. “Before our spirits arrive and get annoyed with us for not feeding them!”

Specs nodded and set the plate on their small ofrenda, holding the pictures of his family, mostly on his father’s side.

Romeo appeared at his side and frowned. “Who are these people?” he asked softly. Specs sighed, pointing them out as he explained.

“That’s my abuela on my mom’s side, and my great-grandparents as well. My great-uncle Juan and…” He paused. “And my dad…” he added quietly.

Romeo frowned and looked at the picture of Specs’ dad. He looked nice, and it seemed Specs was a direct copy of him. The hair, the eyes, all of it.

In the photo, the man had his arms wrapped around a small laughing boy, both of them posed in front of a waterfall, mist coming off from the bottom of the waterfall. Romeo looked back up at Specs.

“What was his name?”

“Timoteo,” Specs answered. “Or Timothy, in English.” He reached up and adjusted the small sugar skull resting next to his father’s photo. “He’ll be back tonight, though. Even if I can’t see him, he will be.”

Romeo smiled. “Course he will. Now c’mon, your mama is serving hot chocolate and it looks really good.”

Specs followed Romeo back to where the rest of his friends were sitting, all enjoying the hot chocolate and laughing.

So no.

It wasn’t that Specs hated America.

Quite the opposite, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! I really like the idea of Spanish-speaking Specs, though. I might play around with it some more, we'll see. Anyways, thanks for reading!!


End file.
